Can't Help Falling In Love With You
by calma-llama
Summary: Walter becomes increasingly worried as his feelings for Paige develop.


He told himself he wouldn't get too close.

He woke up every morning repeating the same tired phrase. _She's a part of my team now, a teammate. Our relationship is completely professional, nothing more._ And every single time he said it, the more he found himself rejecting it. The rapid deterioration of this belief worried him, but he made no move to put an end to it.

Walter was developing feelings for Paige and he couldn't stop himself.

The genius found himself at Paige's house, discussing today's events over dinner. Even as she spoke about the mundane things like the traffic on the way to Ralph's school, Walter's mind was racing as it usually did. One of these thoughts was a reminder that this little meet-up-to-reminisce-over-today's-happenings was **definitely not** a date. Of course it wasn't. Dates consisted of intentions of going beyond the level of companionship and assessing the suitability of the other as a partner in an intimate relationship, both of which weren't happening here...

Were they?

Walter had no clue really, this whole situation threw him off more than he'd like to admit.

"Hey, are you okay? You seem a little out of it right now."

He looked up at Paige, her head tilted slightly to the side in question as she twirled her fork to collect the remains of her spaghetti. She had that same look, the one that she gave him whenever he claimed to be fine, her eyes bright and curious.

"It's nothing. Just running some calculations." He responded with ease.

Although he knew it would be quite the challenge, he attempted to narrow his focus, gathering his thoughts and burying them for the time being. He just wanted to enjoy this moment with his co-worker, teammate...Friend? Maybe if he kept it together for long enough, he'd figure out what to classify her as.

"Oh, speaking of calculations, how in the world did you figure out that formula on Sylvester's board this morning? Remembering the Pythagorean theorem was about as far as I got with formulas, even the quadratic formula was a bit of a stretch for me."

Walter couldn't help the twitch at the corners of his lips as he examined her completely baffled face. "Come on, didn't you take calculus? I just applied the anti-power rule, nothing too crazy."

Paige rolled her eyes at the man. "You make it sound like you do that kind of stuff in your sleep."

"Hm, I probably could if that were possible."

"Don't get smart with me, Walter."

"With an IQ of 197, smart is all I can be."

Paige raised her hands in surrender. "Touche, though I'm not really surprised that Mr. My-IQ-Is-197 outsassed me on the subject of math."

That remark managed to get a laugh out of Walter. Paige giggled along with him as she got up to pour a glass of wine for the both of them. She set one down beside Walter's unfinished meal and raised the other one up into the air.

"A toast to you Walter, for putting up with me and my inferior IQ." She joked, taking a sip of her wine.

"Don't be stupid."

Paige took a moment to swallow her beverage and placed the glass on the counter, blinking at him curiously as she processed what he had just said. "What does that mean?"

The only time tonight he actually needed to think through what he wanted to say, the words just came tumbling from his lips without hesitation. Was it to late to pretend that he had said nothing in the first place? If it was, then he'd have to resort to plan B, walking right out of that apartment and forgetting about it entirely. Instead of sprinting to his car and driving as far as he could, he found himself stepping toward her.

"It's just that...I'm not 'putting up' with you. It's quite the opposite really. I've never met someone who has perplexed me like you have. It's not a frustrating kind perplexment, but one that puzzles me. I want to know more about you. I want to help you with Ralph and I want you to thrive on this team. I want to understand you and...I want you to know that even though you don't have one of the highest IQs in the world, you're still just as special to me."

There was a silence between them as Paige's confused expression melted away into a gentle smile.

"I don't want you to ever feel that just because you're not a genius doesn't mean I don't care about you."

Paige leaned forward and wrapped her arms around him, resting her head on his shoulder.

"For someone lacking in EQ, you sure know your way with words. Thank you...For everything, Walter."

Slowly, Walter lifted his arms and wrapped them around her waist, pulling her as close as he could. Maybe doing something spontaneous like this was good for him every once in a while. Just look at where it had got him tonight, even he couldn't argue with the results.

But then, it struck him.

Did he just say that he cared about her? This sensation he was feeling right now was absolutely foreign to him. He tried to grasp everything that was happening, his heart rate picking up, the dryness in his throat, the sweat accumulating at the palms of his hands, trying to add it all up. Why was this happening? Better question, what exactly was happening? And why did this only ever happen around Paige?

Suddenly, this ever so elusive answer became as clear as day.

He was in love with her.

In that moment, as he held her close, he understood that he had fallen for her...

And he had no intentions of getting up.


End file.
